ISRAEL

Israel's Arabs, an ambivalent situation

Thursday 08 May 2008

Israel's Arab population, representing 20% of the people living in the Hebrew state, theoretically share the same rights as the Jewish citizens. But, in their daily lives, they suffer numerous discriminations (Report : F. Picard)

 

Ibrahim is a resident of Galilee in northern Israel. His parents, Palestinians who were living in Galilee when Israel was created in 1948-- and like most of the Palestinians decided to stay in the new state-- were granted Israeli citizenship.

 

Israeli citizenship is a burden for Ibrahim, he says, even though he has spent his life surrounded by Israelis. “I studied at Jerusalem University, and I work for an Israeli firm”, he says.

 

Many Arab Israelis, like Ibrahim, say they feel torn between their Palestinian identity and their Israeli citizenship. The official number of Arabs in Israel (citizens and residents) has risen from 200,000 in 1948 (14% of the population) to 1.4 million (20% of the population) at the end of 2006, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

 

“My parents, like most ‘Arabs within,’ didn’t want to abandon their property,” says Ibrahim, using a term many Arabs use for Israel’s Arab population. “Partly due to sentimental value, but mainly because they were confident that the Israeli occupation wouldn’t last long, because other Arab countries would help.”

 

Around half of Israel’s Arabs live in predominantly Arab towns and villages in the north. The rest of the population is scattered across the country, with many living in Jerusalem.

 

Discrimination

 

The rest of Ibrahim’s family was less fortunate. His uncles and aunts live in the Gaza strip, and he hasn’t seen them in more than ten years. Tight security measures adopted after the 1993 Oslo accords and the second Intifada in 2000 have made it difficult for Israeli citizens to visit Gaza – “practically impossible,” says Ibrahim.

 

“It’s true, our quality of life is better in Israel than that of the Palestinians living in the territories or even Arabs in the region”, says Ibrahim. “But it’s not enough; we are discriminated against everyday, even in interactions with government institutions.”

 

The Israeli government has acknowledged that there is inequality between Arab and Jewish citizens, and many Arab Israelis says they feel like second-class citizens.  In the early 1990s former Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin said he was “ashamed” of the Jewish state’s attitude towards its Arab citizens. The current prime minister, Ehud Olmert, is also concerned, according to Ahmad Tibi, an Arab deputy at the Knesset. “Olmert has repeatedly said that he’s aware of the inequality between Arabs and Jews in the country and that his government would like to work on this,” says Tibi.

 

Discrimination is on the rise, according to a 2007 report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. The report found a 26% rise in racist incidents in 2006. This included “a rise in racist remarks, discriminatory policies and police-related violence,” the group said.

 

Solving this problem seems difficult. “The problem arises from the way the State of Israel defines itself, as Jewish and democratic,” says Makram Khouri Makhoul, a professor at London’s university. “It’s also due to the complex nature of the relationship between the two communities, since we see an Arab minority living in Jewish state, which is in conflict with its demographically superior Arab neighbours. Indifference and suspicion exist on both sides.” He adds: “Arab Israelis are often considered a threat to security and a demographic bomb waiting to explode.”

 

Suspicion towards Arab Israelis rose after the Lebanon war in 2006, when some Arab Israelis expressed their solidarity with the Lebanese population and condemned Israel. “For the Jews, this was proof of disloyalty by Arab Israelis, while the latter feel they’ve been deprived of  political rights to help them become members of the Israeli state and identify themselves as Israelis,” says Amal Ziadé, an Arab-Israeli that works with Arab NGOs.

 

The situation is complicated. “To solve it, even partially, would first require all succeeding governments to modify their policies keeping in mind this Arab minority,” according to Arab deputy Ahmad Tibi. “This can begin with the annual budget – the Knesset allocates large funds to Jewish regions and leaves a pittance for the Arab regions,” Tibi says, adding, “It’s not surprising to see our cities and villages thirty years behind Jewish cities.”